Even with two in-state ultramarathons on the Aug. 10-11 weekend, several runners headed beyond the Bay State to race. Six of those races are featured in this week’s roundup, led by Cambridge resident Jenny Hoffman’s overall victory at the Catskill Mountain 100K and the return of the Eastern States 100.

Catskill Mountain 100K

After two decades as a relay race, the Catskill Mountain 100K added a solo division in 2011. Since then, the road race has attracted a handful of runners each year willing to take on the pounding of pavement and steep, long hills.

Eighteen runners successfully met the challenge at this year’s race on Sunday, Aug. 11, and the most impressive performance came from 41-year-old Jenny Hoffman of Cambridge, Mass. Hoffman smashed the previous women’s course record by 64 minutes and won the race outright by a 15-minute margin, finishing in 9:49:04. Her closest competitor, 34-year-old men’s winner Douglas Haines of Goshen, N.Y., finished in 10:04:20.

Two more New England residents were among the finishers. Wayne Capacillo, 29, of Warren, R.I., finished 11th overall in 14:04:52, and 20-year-old Brittany LeClair of South Windsor, Conn., finished 15th overall in 14:24:01.

Eastern States 100

After a one-year hiatus, the Eastern States 100-miler returned for its fifth running on Aug. 10-11 in Waterville, Pa., and the 103-mile race and its more than 20,000 feet of vertical gain were every bit as punishing as in years past. Still, the men’s course record fell as 21-year-old Wesley Atkinson of Mill Hall, Pa., built upon his victory at the rugged Worlds End 100K earlier this year by claiming the overall win at Eastern States in 18:23:47 – more than two hours faster than the previous course record. Meanwhile, 30-year-old Megan Burke of Winter Park, Colo., took top honors in the women’s field in 25:59:16 while placing 10th overall.

Thirteen New England residents were among the 133 finishers within the 36-hour time limit, and two earned spots on the podium. Andrew MacGibbon, 23, of Lebanon, N.H., was the men’s runner-up in 20:53:37. Additionally, Kara Olivito, 37, of Medford, Mass., added another impressive finish to her lengthy resume of strong performances, taking third in the women’s field in 28:37:06.

Eastern States marked the 100-mile debut for 25-year-old Megan Lenane, and the resident of Billerica, Mass., turned in an impressive performance. Though she doesn’t have many ultramarathons under her belt, every previous performance was a head-turner. She won the Moosalamoo 36-miler outright in her ultra debut in 2016, and then finished second at the Fells Winter Ultra 40-miler that winter. After a nearly two-year break from ultras, she returned to win the TARC Fall Classic 50-miler in 2018. Lenane showed her ultra grit once again at Eastern States, racing to a fourth-place finish in the women’s field in 29:05:36 and placing 31st overall.

Charlotte Dequeker, 46, of Greenwich, Conn., earned a place in the top third of the field, finishing 38th overall in 29:42:53.

Other New England residents who finished this year’s race were Sarah Slater and Scott Slater, both 41 and of Guilford, Conn., who tied for 49th in 30:51:56; David Horton, 39, of Natick, Mass., who finished 54th in 30:59:36; Stephen Anthony, 38, of Rumford, R.I., who placed 68th in 32:20:14; Erin Hub, 24, of Westerly, R.I., who finished in 33:17:39; Keith Hoffman, 28, of Newtown, Conn., who finished in 33:46:31; Brian Tjersland, 52, of Dartmouth, Mass., who finished in 34:47:08; T.J. Theis, 30, of Arlington, Mass., who finished in 35:04:35; and Dane LeBlanc, 61, of Littleton, Mass., who finished in 35:22:39.

Ragged 50K

David Sinclair defended his title at the Ragged 50K on Sunday, Aug. 11, in Danbury, N.H. The 27-year-old resident of Peru, Vt., easily won the race in 2018 when he cruised through the 33-mile course in 4:17:36, winning by a 21-minute margin. This year’s victory didn’t come nearly as easy. Sinclair did battle with 25-year-old Ben Robinson of Lehman, Pa., throughout the day, and the race came down to the final seconds. Ultimately Sinclair prevailed by three seconds, winning in 4:40:51. Peter Howe, 23, of Holderness, N.H., rounded out the men’s podium in 4:50:39.

The women’s race also went down to the wire with 27-year-old Cristina Piergentili of Huntington, Vt., holding off 35-year-old Laura Ricci of Boston, Mass., in the final minutes. Piergentili won in 7:12:19, followed a minute later by Ricci in 7:13:25. Rosalie Lipfert, 28, of Cornish, N.H., rounded out the women’s podium in 7:49:30.

Several other New England residents had strong performances at the race, including five more who landed in the overall top 10. Andrew Drummond, 38, of Madison, N.H., placed fifth overall in 5:23:25; 42-year-old Michael Pulli of Medford, Mass., was seventh in 5:44:21; 41-year-old Mike Veilleux of Weare, N.H., was eighth in 5:48:25; Brian Amaral, 25, of Tewksbury, Mass., was ninth in 6:31:55; and 29-year-old Zachary Miller of Merrimack, N.H., rounded out the top 10 in 6:39:24.

Other Massachusetts residents who finished the race were Paul Amaral, 38, of Lowell, in 6:42:28; Nick Taormina, 46, of Gloucester, in 7:19:03; Greg Norris, 52, of Rockport, in 8:28:41; Danielle Mackowiak, 33, of Dudley, in 8:42:40; and Justin Chauvin, 27, of Sutton, in 9:52:33.

In addition to the 50K race, Ragged also offered a three-day, 75-mile Stage Race that concluded with Sunday’s “heavy” 50K. Runners completed a 22-mile first stage on Friday, and a 25-mile second stage on Saturday before closing out the event with the 33-mile ultra on Sunday. Twenty-nine runners finished all three days. In the men’s race, 26-year-old Philip Cody of Watertown, Mass., won the first and third stages but finished second overall, less than four minutes behind 33-year-old Bill Cobb of Portsmouth, N.H., in terms of total combined time. Ali Tankiewicz, 34, of New Windsor, N.Y., was the women’s champion of the Stage Race, having finished first in the women’s field and top three overall each day.

Beast of Burden – Summer Edition

Michael Condella has become a regular at the Beast of Burden 100-mile races – both the summer and winter editions. He has finished the winter edition of the 100-mile race on the Erie Canal Towpath three times, most recently this February when he placed second overall. He also finished the summer 100-mile race in 2015.

Condella returned to the Summer Beast of Burden 100-miler on Aug. 10-11 for the 10th annual event, and he once again had a successful day. The 31-year-old resident of Revere, Mass., completed four out-and-backs of the course and placed fifth overall in 23:45:38. William Gunn, 47, of Durham, N.C., was the overall winner in 17:21:11 and women’s champion Stephany Evans, 61, of Bronx, N.Y., finished fourth overall in 22:59:50.

Twenty-eight runners finished the 100-miler within the 30-hour time limit, including five others from New England. Jared Buchanan of Ellington, Conn., and Justin Dore of Waltham, Mass., both notched top-10 finishes. Buchanan, 28, placed eighth overall in 23:59:50, and Dore, 49, was ninth overall in 24:44:34. Other finishers were 36-year-old Michael Byrne of West Hartford, Conn., in 27:33:59; 36-year-old Justin Fitzgerald of Malden, Mass., in 28:26:23; and 40-year-old Fred Pinero of East Windsor, CT, in 28:26:21.

Forty-five runners completed the two-out-and-back 50-mile race, including two New England residents. Emmy Stocker, 61, of Old Greenwich, Conn., placed 22nd overall in 12:08:56, and 31-year-old Elizabeth Gillis of Lowell, Mass., placed 26th overall in 12:43:19. Michelle Mariotti, 41, of Old Forge, Pa., was the overall winner of the 50-miler in 7:30:44, outdistancing the runner-up and men’s champion by 52 minutes.

Green Lakes Endurance Runs

As Todd Cleland prepares for his 100-mile debut in October at the Javelina Jundred in Arizona, the 50-year-old resident of Oak Bluffs, Mass., turned in a solid performance at the 14th annual Green Lakes Endurance Runs on Saturday, Aug. 10, in Fayetteville, N.Y.

Javelina is a 20-mile loop course, and the Green Lakes Endurance Runs offered a somewhat similar format with a 7.75-mile loop that’s a mixture of singletrack and doubletrack trails, dirt roads and a little bit of pavement.

Cleland took part in the event’s 50K race, and he finished 43rd out of the 90-runner field in 6:04:43. He will next race the 50-miler at Kilkenny Ridge in New Hampshire in September before heading to Javelina.

Cleland wasn’t the only New England resident in the field at Green Lakes. Three others joined him in the 50K. Glenn Hamilton, 62, of Harpursville, Vt., placed 26th overall in 5:27:06, and Kathryn Maier, 38, and Kevin Maier, 35, both of Bolton, Mass., tied for 45th overall in 6:22:16. Ellie Pell, 27, of Ithaca, N.Y., won the race outright in 3:58:37 while men’s champion Richard Ellsworth, 19, of Oxford, N.Y., placed second overall in 4:06:22.

One New England resident was among the 15 finishers of the 100K race. David Curry, 45, of Westford, Vt., placed ninth overall in 13:42:05.

Nifty Fifty

Quang Le was the only non-Pacific Northwest resident in the 16-runner field at the seventh annual Nifty Fifty 50K race on Saturday, Aug. 10, in Juneau, Alaska. Le, 44, of Dorchester, Mass., has run several ultramarathons across the country in the past decade, including the Chuckanut 50K in Washington in 2014. Saturday marked his second race in the region and first in Alaska.

Le handled the 5,000 feet of climbing and singletrack trails just fine, finishing 14th overall in 6:51:55. Adam Loomis, 27, of Kamas, Utah, won the race in 4:04:27.

*Editor’s Note: Results are found on a variety of sites, including ultrasignup.com, UltraRunning Magazine, and official race websites. We do the best we can to find as many results as possible to report on and recognize the local ultrarunning community.